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Akela
Akela is the leader of the wolf pack from the 1967 Disney film The Jungle Book. He also appears in the TV series Jungle Cubs as Leah's mate. Appearances The Jungle Book Akela, like the other wolves, is seen at the beginning of the film. He appears when the pack learns that Shere Khan had returned to their part of the jungle. Akela states that Shere Khan wants to kill Mowgli and not even the strength of the entire pack could fight him off, so he has Bagheera take Mowgli to the Man Village. Akela and the other wolves are not seen again afterwards. Jungle Cubs Akela and his mate, Leah, appear as teenagers in the episode "The Coming of the Wolves". At one point, their pack leader, Cain, reveals that he has had feelings for Leah and wanted her all to himself, but she rejects him. Akela and Leah then decide to leave the pack. When Cain and his pack give chase, Akela and Leah manage to escape and seek refuge in the lair without knowing it belongs to the cubs. After Hathi panics at the sight of the two wolves and flees, Akela and Leah laugh awkwardly and decide to rest where they are. The cubs later have a falling-out with Akela and Leah, who both eventually decide to leave. However, when Cain and his pack arrive at the lair and plan to attack, Akela and the cubs all stand up to him. Akela and Cain then engage in a brutal fight over Leah. In the aftermath, Akela defeats Cain and then orders him to leave the cubs' lair and never return. Cain picks himself up and reluctantly does so. Shere Khan and the other cubs, having a change of heart, tell the two wolves that they can stay at their lair. Just then, Leah goes into labor and has eight wolf puppies. As a reward for the cubs' kindness, Akela and Leah make them the godfathers of their puppies. Trivia *Akela means "single" or "solitary" in Hindi; Kipling also calls him the "Lone Wolf". Indeed, in the original stories, after he misses his kill and is demoted from the position of Alpha, Akela leaves his pack to hunt alone. *Despite Akela's page in Disneystrology being on January 17, Raksha along with her puppies' picture is seen instead. *In the original Jungle Book stories, specifically the "Red Dog" in the novel The Second Jungle Book, Akela dies in battle with the dholes (wild dogs) that swarm down to the jungle. In the 2016 film, Shere Khan kills him. *Akela and the rest of his pack are Indian wolves, a subspecies of gray wolf that ranges from Israel to India. They are currently classified as an endangered species as only around 3,000 remain in India while 7,000 are believed to exist in Turkey, with smaller numbers also existing in Iran, Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. *Shere Khan attacks and kills Akela onscreen and throws him off the cliff in the 2016 film, while in The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story, he attacks and kills Raksha, but it was never shown onscreen. Category:Characters Category:The Jungle Book characters Category:Males Category:Animals Category:Dogs Category:Leaders Category:Adults Category:Heroes Category:Wolves Category:Disney characters